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What's Going on With My Grace? [How You Can Help]

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

So in case you missed it here and here, Grace has been struggling lately. My fur babies are my whole entire world so right now I am still reeling from last week's events. Basically, for weeks now Grace has these recurring episodes where she seems panicked and stressed and she yelps if you touch her neck, which indicated that she is in some sort of pain. So after talking to my regular vet she referred me to a neurologist since we couldn't find anything to diagnosis through standard testing. I had to take a whole day off work to drive to the neurologist located in Maryland. It was only an hour drive but still I was nervous. He looked at her, did some poking and prodding and could immediately find where the nerves were reactive, which was her neck. He said it's likely some sort of spinal issue but the only way to diagnosis it would be to do an MRI. Now in case you've never googled around, an MRI on a pet is big money. But for me the MRI is much more than just expensive. The MRI was going to give me answers and a definite diagnosis. Because without that, we wouldn't be able to treat Grace properly. So to me the MRI was invaluable. So I went ahead and agreed.

Grace with her shaved head after the MRI

Sure enough she was diagnosed with Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) of the surgical spine, which means she has some ruptured discs that are being squashed by her spine which is obviously painful, like if someone were driving a nail into her neck.

Obviously surgery is one option but it can be very risky and it's INSANELY expensive. Luckily for me, Grace has other options for pain management and since she isn't hurting 24/7 as it is, this is great news. There are many alternative treatments to surgery aside from pain management but all will require some money.

Most of you remember that Rocky was diagnosed with a heart condition (Mitral Valve Disease) 2 years ago and requires about $2,000 in medical costs each year. But the good news for him is that he's doing awesome on his medication so I'm quite happy with that but my extra money that I can scrounge up already goes to his costs. So to bring me back up to speed so that Grace can't be slighted in regards to medical care (it's a nightmare to even think that I'd have to choose between the two) I have set up a GoFundMe page for Grace. We are already at over 50% of our goal.

Now this part of the post is where I tell you how you can help. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to donate, trust me! SO here are the different ways in which you can support Grace as well as me.

1. DonateClick on the image above to donate ANY amount (it all helps) for Grace.

2. ShareSharing the GoFundMe link each and everyday makes a HUGE impact. It keeps Grace trending on the main GoFundMe site which means it has the opportunity for more eyes to see it. We gotta keep it moving! SHARE SHARE SHARE! It only takes a second.

3. Blog ItMy fellow friends and bloggers have already posted about Grace which once again gets more eyes on her page. Monica from Jersey Girl Texan Heart posted this awesome and informative post and Jenn from BITCHFEST posted an amazing tribute to how much we love our fur babies!

4. Shop using my Amazon LinkAll you have to do is bookmark THIS LINKand anytime you click it, shop, and add things to your cart and then purchase, I will get a percentage of affiliate credit. Every little amount adds up and helps go towards Grace.

So please please please keep spreading the word about Grace! I will be sure to keep you update once I discuss a set plan for pain management with my vet!

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